Cheryl Trostrud-White's Quilted Canvas

Wearable art combines function, design, and a message or theme. Like a painting, drawing, or sculpture, wearable art is almost always "one of a kind." FIDM recently presented an exhibit featuring the work of six California wearable artists entitled "Intuitive Threads: Wearable Art." The artists came to FIDM to speak about their work and present their unique materials, techniques, and inspirations.

"If you’re not a work of art, then wear one."
-Oscar Wilde

Cheryl Trostrud-White has perfected a unique quilting technique. To her silks, cottons, and metallic fabrics, she adds a plethora of embellishments like metallic thread, ribbons, charms, netting, mirrors, beads, and sequins. The result? Her quilted creations take on the vibrancy of freshly-painted canvases!

Cheryl is originally from Chicago, Illinois and now lives in Southern California. She taught elementary school art classes for 14 years, all the while constructing quilts and quilted clothing. Over the last 20 years, Cheryl has explored a variety of themes in her wearable work, from traditional to contemporary. Each of her creations evokes a mood and conveys a theme. "Ancient Kyoto Sunset" blazes with bold golds and reds. Her father's beautiful garden inspired the first-place-winning quilt christened "Papa Trostrud's Garden." Cheryl describes it as a "floor garden" for people who aren't able to have a real garden.

In 1991, Cheryl formed the Wearable Art Connection, a Southern California network that boasts over 400 fiber artists! She has taught and lectured throughout the United States and overseas in Japan, with the help of an interpreter. Cheryl has exhibited her work across the country in quilt and wearable art competitions and won many awards. From the Nihon Vogue Salon in Tokyo, Japan, to the Dairy Barn in Athens, Ohio, her wearable art has toured the globe!

The Fairfield Fashion Show is one of the most prestigious events for quilting and wearable art designers. From its premiere performance in 1979, the event has served as a showcase for almost 425 designers from the United States, Canada, and 18 countries around the world. The fashion show travels around the country and internationally to major quilting events. Audiences worldwide get the chance to be inspired by dazzling wearable art designs that display incredible creativity, techniques, and countless hours of work. Cheryl has been invited to exhibit garments for eight Fairfield Fashion shows, and that's a major honor!

Cheryl gave the audience a close-up look at her extraordinary quilting by modeling one of her gorgeous kimono designs. She filled the room with both personal charisma and a palpable passion for her art!